Dinah Washington Centennial Photo Exhibition

Are you a Dinah-Mite?

I am, and I hope you’ll join me by offering your support to the Dinah Washington Centennial Photo Exhibition. I’m Angie Lee Cobbs, and I have been developing a biopic about Dinah Washington for over 20 years. It’s been a long journey so far, but every step has only made me more certain that this incredible woman’s story needs to be told.

Loved and revered by an array of musical superstars, Dinah launched the career of Quincy Jones and inspired singers that include Lady Gaga, Amy Winehouse, and Aretha Franklin, who recorded a tribute album to Dinah in 1964. At this year’s Chicago Blues Festival, Mayor Brandon Johnson lauded Dinah’s achievements and proclaimed June 8, 2024, as Dinah Washington Day. In 1993, she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of fame as an “early influence,” and the same year the US Postal Service honored Dinah with a Legend of Rhythm and Blues postage stamp. A cross-genre phenom, Dinah was also respected and loved by her peers, including Frank Sinatra, James Brown, Billie Holiday, Sammy Davis, Jr. and Tony Bennett. In fact, because of her deep friendship with Mr. Bennett, Dinah’s grandchildren and I received a special invitation to Lady Gaga’s Las Vegas Jazz and Piano show, which features three songs Dinah recorded.

Dinah was, quite simply, a superstar. As Quincy Jones once said: “She could take the melody in her hand, hold it like an egg, crack it open, fry it, let it sizzle, reconstruct it, put the egg back in the box and back in the refrigerator and you would’ve still understood every single syllable.”

So why do we need your support for a photo exhibition to celebrate Dinah’s legacy? Because, despite her wild success, Dinah did not always receive full and fair compensation for her efforts. Following her untimely death at age 39, her husband of six months made an unwise deal with her record label, which grossly underestimated the value of her catalogue of recordings. Her two sons fought to regain some of her royalties in the early 90s, and her grandchildren recently persuaded executives at Dinah’s label to revoke the unfair deal made after her death, only to be informed that no funds remained.

Despite financial obstacles, Dinah’s three grandchildren, Bobby Hill a catastrophic adjuster for an insurance firm, Joylisa Jenkins, a military veteran and program analyst and Angel Michelle Jenkins, a disabled military veteran, are determined to keep Dinah’s legacy alive. To that end, the four of us are working together to celebrate Dinah’s life and achievements with the Dinah Washington Centennial Photo Exhibition. This unique retrospective event will be held at the Dinah Washington Cultural Arts Center in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, where she was born, and will be open free to the public from September 6th - 26th. We hope you’ll join us in celebrating her centennial birthday — and help us fulfill our dream to honor her legacy with a gift to her memorial exhibition today.

The Dinah Washington Photo Exhibition needs to cover costs for:

• Photo processing, framing, licensing and other items needed for the exhibition

• Gallery rentals

• Curator fee and travel expenses

• GoFundMe estimated fees

Your gift will help us kickstart this one-of-a-kind centennial event to celebrate a musician whose time has finally come! A top-selling Black artist and a Grammy winner, Dinah Washington earned her sterling musical reputation the hard way — through grit, tenacity, hard work, and raw talent. She was an incredible woman with a fascinating story, which not many people know (yet). This is your opportunity to help keep the flame of her spirit blazing for a new generation of fans.

To reach our fundraising destination of $30,000, we need you, her fan base, as well as our friends and family members. Your gift of $20 (or more) will go a long way to help us fuel the flame of Dinah’s memory, celebrate the Queen she was, and offer encouragement and inspiration to future musicians.

Thank you in advance for jumping on the Dinah-Mites train.

All aboard!

Angie